Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Once Upon a Time

I only had a few friends with digital cameras when I was in college. While a part of me is thankful for the limited record of the fun times that were had, I also wish I had a few more keepsakes than the limited prints in my storage unit back in LA. This is why I was excited when someone pointed out that a bunch of photos taken during my college years had been digitalized and placed in an online library. It was fun to look through them and reach back to what have become awfully fuzzy memories.

It's hard to believe there was ever I time I wore such a short skirt in public (or had such tan shoulders!). I had so much fun being part of the dance team in college, but I'll never forget overhearing a female MBA's biting remarks about what a waste of time it was to participate in something "like that" (to clarify, this was a MBA student at my undergrad institution, not one of my own MBA classmates). Her implication was that we should be studying or exclusively involved in academically-driven extra-curriculars, but most certainly not wasting our time on something so silly (or so "demeaning").

It hurt my feelings then, but I wondered if I would come to agree with her in time. I have not. It's a wonderful thing to be part of something that's purely fun. And all those hours spent bouncing around on the sidelines didn't keep us from collecting 1 PhD, 2 MDs, 2 JDs, 1 MA, 1 MS and 1 MBA between the five of us.

While I fully support access to gender-neutral play for young girls and think we should encourage women to lean-in and strive for higher education (especially in STEM), I know that an appreciation for pink, playing princess or (gasp) being a cheerleader will not keep your little girl from academic or career ambition.